The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women recently published a report following its review of Canada’s progress and fulfillment of its obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in late October. In the report, the Committee expresses concerns over a lack of access to affordable child care, resulting in a tendency for women to take on part-time, low paying work as a result of their roles as caregivers. The Committee also expressed concerns about access to legal aid and the resulting lack of access to justice facing Canadian women. In this episode we examine how these issues relate to the bigger picture of gender inequality facing women in British Columbia.

We first speak with Kendra Milne, Director of Law Reform at West Coast LEAF about West Coast LEAF’s annual CEDAW report card, which documents the province’s performance with respect to its obligations under the Convention. We also discuss the current state of access to child care in BC, as well as its relationship to poverty, violence against women, and other gender inequality issues.

Next we speak with Tracey McIntosh, Director of Justice for Girls about access to justice, legal outreach and advocacy, and related issues facing young women in the province. Tracey is joined by a number of Justice for Girls’ Young Women Interns.